The difference between the two
Definition
Quantitative research: the collection of information in the form of numbers and quantities, which can be counted, compared and turned into percentages, tables and charts.
Qualitative research: the collection of opinions, feelings and reasons, which explains why customers behave as they do but cannot be counted.
- The two answer different questions: quantitative research tells a business what is happening and how much of it, while qualitative research tells it why.
- One piece of research can produce both, because a questionnaire can count ticked boxes and still leave space for a written comment.
Quantitative research
- It comes from closed questions with fixed answers, such as tick boxes and ratings out of five, and from counting things like footfall, website visits and till receipts.
- Large samples are possible because each answer takes seconds to give and seconds to add up, so a survey can cover thousands of customers.
- The results can be turned into percentages, charts and comparisons over time, which makes a pattern easy to see and easy to present to a bank or an investor.
- A Greggs survey finding that 68% of morning customers buy a hot drink with their food is a quantitative result the business can act on immediately.
- The limit is that numbers describe behaviour without explaining it, so a business can see that sales of a range fell without knowing what put customers off.
Example
Tesco's Clubcard turns every scanned purchase into quantitative data, showing exactly which products sell, in which stores and at which times of day.
Qualitative research
- It comes from focus groups, one-to-one interviews, open questions on a questionnaire and the wording customers use in online reviews.
- The value is depth, because customers explain their reasons, describe what annoyed them and raise problems the business never thought to ask about.
- A focus group told a sandwich maker that the bread went soggy by lunchtime, which no rating out of five would ever have revealed.
- The limits are that samples are small, opinions cannot be added up or compared cleanly, and two managers can read the same comments differently.
How the two work together
- The strongest research uses both, because the numbers show the size of a pattern and the comments explain what is causing it.
- If sales of a sandwich range are down and customers say the bread is soggy, the business knows both how serious the problem is and exactly what to fix.
- Which type matters more depends on the decision, since ordering stock needs quantitative evidence of how much will sell, while redesigning packaging needs qualitative feedback on what customers dislike about it.
Common Mistake
- Qualitative data is not simply less reliable than quantitative data, because a large survey with badly worded questions misleads just as easily.
- Name the specific weakness, such as a small sample or subjective interpretation, rather than writing that opinions are 'just opinions'.
Exam technique
- A common wording is state whether the information in the extract is qualitative or quantitative, so look for numbers, since figures and percentages are quantitative while comments and reasons are qualitative.
- If asked which type the business should rely on, tie your choice to the decision it faces instead of answering that both are useful.
- The mistake to avoid is muddling this pair with primary and secondary, because primary and secondary research can each produce either type of data.
Self review
- Define qualitative research and quantitative research.
- Which methods produce mainly qualitative data, and which produce mainly quantitative data?
- Give one strength and one limit of quantitative research.
- Why are qualitative findings hard to compare?
- Why do businesses use the two types together?
